“The President of the United States was speaking. Every face was turned toward the radio. Everyone was silent. Throughout all the chapel every face was sober. There shone not one smile anywhere.” In this December 12th, 1941 issue of the Whitworthian, John Henricksen was describing students of Whitworth College as they sat poised listening to Franklin D. Roosevelt announce that the United States was going to war. In response to the global events spinning beyond the college’s control, Whitworth College’s faculty and students, like many college age students, rose to the occasion and rallied behind their country.